I fully realize that yesterday’s post said I would not be back for a couple of days because we would be “taking a sea day” on the river. For those of you non-cruisers, that means we didn’t go on an excursion, and I really thought we would not get off the ship. I also thought I had nothing I wanted to write about. But I was wrong!

It turns out we (Steve and I) did get off the ship, and it turns out we did find some interesting stuff to take photos of, and it turns out I thought of some other things to write about. So here we are.

Let’s start today with the photo at the top of the post. That’s a panoramic photo I took from our verandah from where the ship was moored yesterday in Engelhartszell an der Donau, Austria. I have been told that “an der Donau” is German for on the Danube. So this is Engelhartszell on the Danube. We let the general population of fellow travelers head off to Passau and Salzburg, and we stayed behind to do…nothing. When the buses first left, and we were four of about 20 that stayed behind, it was raining pretty heavily. Soon enough, the sun came out (as you can see in the photo), and Steve and I decided to take a short walk in the village. The village itself wasn’t much, but there were photos to be taken and a lovely church that was quite interesting. I will let the photos tell the story of this little village. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can then scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping…and PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…

I did a little further research on the church because we were truly shocked to find such a magnificent church in such a small village. It turns out there has been a church on that site (either as a church or as a monastery) since 1045. It has gone through many great changes to become the building it is today. If you don’t mind doing translation by the paragraph, you can read about it by clicking here.

That was about it for yesterday, but I do want to address some other general topics about this cruise.

Am I really that negative?

First, I am not understanding some of the comments I have been getting. Am I making this trip sound that bad, or is everyone (including me) just focusing on things that are bugging me? This started from the very beginning when someone said, “Thanks, I will try to avoid Delta Airlines in the future.” I went back and read what I had written about Delta Airlines, and I said I thought that the flight was very good.  Here is what I originally wrote about the flight:

We are on an older plane (in this case, it turns out that’s a good thing as the newer ones have harder seats), and the food was pretty darn good. The service was excellent, and I am actually looking forward to going home on their service from here in Paris to Seattle.

Does that sound bad? Does it sound like I didn’t like the flight on Delta?

Yes, there have been times that have been a challenge. Yes, in Munich, we had to sit around for three hours while others shopped. But that’s the point…others really were shopping. We just aren’t into that.

Yes, the weather has been sucky. But who doesn’t complain about the weather? We chose to take the cruise in the winter.

Yes, the Christmas Markets are boring and have the same stuff. But I fully admit to being the person who fell for the marketing of those same Christmas Markets. The photos on Viking’s website look awesome. And the same is true for every other river cruise company—the photos make it look like everyone is having a great time. And they might be. I had different expectations. And those were in my head. I, in no way, blame Viking for any discomfort I may be experiencing on this trip. Well, it would have been nice if they had let us sit on a warm bus in Munich. I would have happily read a book or played games on my phone for three hours while others shopped and partied if I could have been someplace warm and comfortable and the “luxury motor coach” could have been that place.

But other than that, Viking has done a great job. We have a Program Director from Wales who is an amazing woman. Can you imagine having a job where the level of a river dictates what you will be doing the next day and where you will be doing it? Talk about a logistical nightmare. Our program director, Debra, went to bed on the first night of the cruise thinking she would wake up the next morning in one place, and all the prep she had done (like getting buses and arranging walking tours) would be taken care of. In the middle of the night, the ship (due to the weather) went to another place entirely, and all of a sudden, she had to find a way to get ground transportation for 180 people back to the place we were supposed to have docked. And this can happen to her every single day. YIKES! I honestly don’t know how she does it.

I think that any complaints I have had on this entire trip have had to do with my expectations. We have been planning this trip for so long (remember, we bought it in 2018, and we were canceled in 2020 and 2021) that the idea of being in Europe at Christmas really appealed to me. And if I were a shopper and a partier, I would LOVE every single second of this cruise. Every trip you take is all about expectations.

Maybe part of it is the river cruise industry’s marketing. Yesterday afternoon, we were in our cabin, and I turned on the TV to watch Downton Abbey (you can watch every episode of Downton Abbey on every Viking ship). I told Kathleen if they were really great at customer service when I went to watch it, it would restart from the same episode we stopped watching on our 2022 Med cruise ?. Now that would be something!

If you watch much PBS television (we do), you know that before most of their programs, there is a little ad for Viking. Usually, it shows the river ship sailing through these idyllic valleys with castles around every turn. Those views are what I was expecting. But if I really think about it, I can never get those views unless I am in a low-flying airplane or take a photo with a drone.

Let me tell you something great that happened yesterday. Our thermostat didn’t seem to be working. We like it cooler at night, and it seemed stuck at 72 (22C). We asked our stateroom attendant to show us how to use it, thinking it was a user error. She checked it and then called the maintenance guy, who arrived in minutes. He checked it and asked us when we would be out of the stateroom for about 30 minutes. We said we hadn’t planned on going anywhere but to cocktail hour at 6:00. He said, “No problem! I will be back at 6:00.” Sure enough, we went to cocktails, and when I came back to the stateroom between dinner and drinks to use the facilities, it was working like a charm. He had pulled a panel out of the ceiling, done some work, and fixed it for us in less than half an hour. Amazing.

I also need to mention that the beds are great. On our Viking Ocean cruise, I found them way too hard. On this cruise, I pre-ordered a mattress topper, and I have slept great every night.

Have I mentioned the food? It has been marvelous. And there is too much of it. I want to try it all. Great breakfast, lunch and dinner. Last night was a German-themed meal, and the entire service crew dressed up in their best traditional German costumes. I will write more about the food later on the trip.

I have to go now. Kathleen just texted me that she is up and in the shower (we don’t have breakfast today—it’s brunch and it doesn’t start until 8:00 am), and then there is the scenic cruising, and I will want to be out taking photos. Tonight we sleep in Vienna. And before that, we have a concert in a Vienna theater—Strauss and Mozart. Full report tomorrow—I hope.

When you have expectations, you are setting yourself up for disappointment.  —Ryan Reynolds